Winter garden soup with garlic croûtons

I do love cooking with locally (or home) grown vegetables, there is something so wonderfully fulfilling about it. I have adapted a great recipe for you to enjoy making and most importantly eating!

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

100g smoked bacon lardons or chopped streaky bacon

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

2 sticks of celery, chopped

1 medium potato, peeled and chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

400g of chopped tomatoes ( I prefer canned)

1letre of vegetable stock ( stock cube is ideal to use with boiling water)

2 tsp chopped sage leaves, or 1 tsp dried

few cabbage leaves, shredded

400g can of haricot beans

handful chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

For the garlic croûtons

slices of crusty bread

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp of crushed garlic

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the onion and lardons or streaky bacon and fry for about 5 mins until the onion is starting to brown. Tip in the carrots, celery, potato and garlic, stir well and cook for a few minutes.

Add the tomatoes, stock and sage, and bring to the boil, stirring. Reduce heat to simmer and cook partly covered for 30 mins, stirring in the cabbage after 15 mins. Drain and rinse the beans and add to the pan with the parsley. Season and serve with garlic croûtons, (see below), or crusty bread.

For the garlic croûtons: Cut 3-4 slices of crusty bread into chunks, about 2cm thick. Tip into an ovenproof pan. Mix the olive oil, pinch of salt and garlic, then add to the bread, tossing it with your hands until the croûtons are evenly coated. Bake in a moderate oven for about 10 mins until crisp.

Then Enjoy!!!

A perfect lunch to tuck into in your garden on a cold crisp December afternoon.